Background Briefing: November 29, 2018 | David Dayen sits in for Ian Masters
Ro Khanna on His New Bill Taking on Prescription Drug Costs
First, we to talk about one of the biggest issues facing consumer pocketbooks: the high cost of prescription drugs. A new bill from Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Ro Khanna would drastically lower the costs of medications. We discuss it with Congressman Ro Khanna, who represents California’s 17th Congressional District.
Could Science Fiction Solutions Help Mitigate Climate Change?
Then, the plan to block out the sun. Climate change has become such a threat to our economy and society that scientists are considering science fiction-style solutions to mitigate its worst effects – like sucking carbon out of the atmosphere, or literally dimming the sun. Journalist Kate Aronoff has a cover story at In These Times magazine on this topic of geoengineering, and we talk to her.
“The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age”
Finally, we look at a new book called The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age. It’s a concise history of the political battle in America against monopolies, and how our modern economy has extreme amounts of concentrated corporate power. Author Tim Wu, who coined the term net neutrality, will take us through his book, and give insights on how we can restore the anti-monopoly movement.